winning the arguments on cuts

I’ve got a post over on False Economy that looks at how the polls have moved on the cuts since the election. Keen readers of this blog will know that I have been tracking YouGov polls in recent months, and as I decided to present the information at False Economy in a slightly simpler way I thought keen poll fans would like to the data presented in a way that is consistent with previous Touchstone posts.

The key difference is that here on Touchstone I have tracked public opinion using a net measure – ie those who agree with a position less those who disagree with it.

That is the best way to present polls in my view, but I also know that some find this a bit confusing.

So on False Economy I have simply tracked the proportion of the population who agree with the anti-cuts message. The figures are just as genuine, but a little less sophisticated than the net measure as such graphs ignore flows between the “don’t knows” and those backing the opposing position.

This first chart looks at those who will say they will suffer directly from the cuts (less those who say they won’t).

The next chart tracks those who think the cuts will be good for the economy less those who don’t.

And the final chart tracks those who think the cuts are fair less those who don’t.

I’ve not repeated the arguments I’ve made at False Economy, nor repeated the interesting new YouGov questions that ask whether people think the cuts are too deep and too quick. They will also track these in future, and it will be fascinating to watch how they develop.

Written by Nigel Stanley

I was the TUC’s Head of Campaigns and Communications until semi-retiring in May 2015, I started at the TUC in 1994.
My interests cover a wide range of communications and politics related issues, but if I have a specialist subject, it's pensions…